I think I realized what the problem was.
This is the best analogy that I can come up with to explain why I think some people got upset about it.. just a perception on my part..
This site over the last year or more has had its ups and downs. talks and rumors of not having enough funding to keep it going. the Cache ordeal, etc..
I think people have been on edge and have been expecting the site to go down..
I think it would be like if you had a relative like a dad or brother or sister who had cancer and was battling cancer and had been battling cancer for awhile.. you keep expecting the worse.. you keep waiting for the phone call to say it is all over..
Then one day the phone call comes.. they say the relative is dead... You have been kind of expecting it but you are still in shock, then you start the mourning process .. then later on they call you back and say
"psyche!! I was just busting your chops.. you know.. just a joke. there is nothing wrong with them. they are fine"
I think if the board hadn’t been in turmoil over the last year with constant talk about not having enough finances to keep it going... I don’t think it would have had the impact it did.. I think (guessing, perceiving) that was the mind set and why some people didn’t think it was funny.
Anyway.. I am not riled up about it.. never really was.. it got me.. I thought it was real, and I was trying to do damage control. And then when I found out it was a joke.. I was like.. ok whatever..
But while I was on the treadmill tonight that analogy popped into my head and it makes sense to me as to why some people went over the edge about it.
Maybe.. just a guess.. just throwing an idea out there to try and help people understand…
*shrugs*
Thrasher, you are one insightful sombeach. I think you hit the nail on the head.
But I'll add a little...
Some of us have high stress jobs. Some of us live at our jobs, and dont have a big social life. I fit that catagory to a certain extent. My time off is spent with my family, or on my bike. Otherwise, I am at work.
The friends I have met here are very important to me.
I believed that the org was done...primarily due to the facts that thrasher just laid out... It seems we have been in a precarious situation since cache left. It was believable that the site would end.
I was severely bummed that I'd not have the pleasure of talking with all the great folks I'd met here at the org. I mean, what other place can any of us go....
where we talk to really good people....from all over the globe...about the things
we love? ...our bikes. Yea, there are other websites about motorcycles...but nowhere is there the kind of quality folk that are here.
NO WHERE. We all say it on a regular basis...well, most of us anyway. I don't understand how you cannot be sad that all of a sudden, you have no way to contact Pacman..you don't know how to get ahold of FLknifemaker cause you want one of his quality products... you can't ask NJ which helmet is best..(cause he has one of each!) you have no way to get ahold of Relsek, cause you are going to Florida and you REALLY want to meet this cool guy...
Maybe I put too much into this...but I had NO way to contact any of these folks. These people that I consider friends.
Cap, you got me. Without a doubt, you got me. You also got others. Looking back now, it does have some humor. At the time, it didn't.
It is not the joke that caused the problem. It is the 2 days it took for the powers that be to admit what kind of impact it could have on the members.
The first 2 hours after we were back up is where the problem started. ALL the problems we have had could have been diverted with a bit more understanding. Some folks voiced serious frustration over this situation...and were met with..basically, "tough shid" see ya. IMO..that was out of line.
I have nothing but the utmost respect for you and all the mods. I think it is cool that you posted this message. This is still the best site on the net.
I'm probably banned now too. Oh well. I have this problem of saying what I think.
Lets ALL try to put this behind us. And get back to being the best M/C site on the net.